Amendment 49

October 22, 2008
Complaint: Amendment 49 Opponents Break Law
Issue Committees Illegally Transferred Campaign Resources
ENGLEWOOD, CO – Supporters of a good-government initiative on this November’s ballot say a citizen’s complaint against amendment opponents highlights the need for reform.
Today, Colorado Springs resident and former school board candidate Reginald Perry filed a formal complaint against the issue committee Protect [...]

In a 30-second radio spot playing across Colorado, former U.S. Senator Hank Brown touts the numerous newspaper endorsements of Amendment 49, the Ethical Standards initiative:

Earlier this week in an interview on 850 KOA’s Mike Rosen Show, Senator Brown expounded on the endorsements and what the initiative does. Here is a brief but important clip:

A letter writer in the Greeley Tribune today spoke out on behalf of Amendment 49:

Last year governments in Colorado collected millions of dollars for delivery to political special interest groups.
Coloradans can fix that with Amendment 49. The “Ethical Standards” initiative ends the shenanigans that transfer money through the public payroll system to labor unions, [...]

Former U.S. Senator Hank Brown, who previously endorsed Amendment 49, explained his support in greater detail in a Sunday op-ed for the Denver Post:

Should taxpayers be forced to subsidize the collection of political contributions and payments to lobbyists?
All of us would defend a citizen’s right to lobby government or donate to a campaign. But forcing [...]

Following up on Jon Caldara’s high-stakes offer to Gov. Bill Ritter, the editors of the Colorado Springs Gazette dove into the fray this morning:

Amendment 49 is an outstanding proposal that would restore the rights of government employees to control more of their own earnings, while forcing unions to collect their own fees. The Gazette enthusiastically [...]

From today’s lead editorial in the Rocky Mountain News:

We don’t know at what point Amendment 49 got thrown into the mix - or why it should even be there, since it appears to us to be a benign good-government measure.
As you may have guessed, we support Amendment 49 - just as we previously supported various [...]

From an editorial in today’s Grand Junction Daily Sentinel on the Ethical Standards Initiative:

Employees could still belong to professional organizations or unions, but would have to pay dues some other way.
Despite the scare tactics from the union-backed mailer, that’s not something that endangers public safety.
“The government shouldn’t be bookkeeper, accountant and collection agency” for these [...]

From a piece in today’s Rocky Mountain News by longtime political columnist (and now retired) Peter Blake:

No doubt passage of [Amendment] No. 49 would make it more difficult for unions to collect dues. But Caldara said that in the age of automatic bank transfers, union members can easily arrange to have dues deducted if they [...]

The first two letters to the editor in support of Amendment 49 have appeared in Colorado newspapers this week:
Colorado Springs Gazette, August 20
With a full ballot this year, there are quite a few proposals that are going to sharply divide people based on party affiliation or worldview. But Amendment 49 isn’t one of them.
This common-sense [...]

For Immediate Release: Media Contact: Chuck Broerman
August 15, 2008 (719) 459-6065
Hank Brown Headlines Ethical Standards Ad Former U.S. Senator: “Amendment 49 Keeps Lobbyists in Line”
ENGLEWOOD, CO – Proponents of a statewide ballot initiative to clean up government payroll systems have launched their November campaign with a major public endorsement.
 
Also known as the “Ethical Standards” [...]